A rousing celebration of life: State Rep. Robert B. Jones remembered for bringing people together

View full sizeMark Bugnaski | Kalamazoo GazetteThe Rev. Addis Moore, pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church, gives the eulogy for state Rep. Robert B. Jones during a memorial service at Western Michigan University's Miller Auditorium on Thursday.

State Rep. Robert B. Jones, former four-term Kalamazoo’s mayor, died unexpectedly Oct. 17 after battling esophageal cancer since early last year. The 66-year-old Democrat had been seeking a seat in the Michigan Senate.

The Rev. Addis Moore in his eulogy compared the passing of the lawmaker — still often referred to as “Mayor Jones” despite being out of that office for five years — to a professional athlete who retires from his sport while still a success.

“Many of the great players are really remembered quite well because they leave the game at the peak of their playing days,” said Moore, pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, where Jones was an active member.

“No injury, no lack of skill pushes them out of the game. ... That is what’s happening here today as we celebrate the life of Representative Jones,” Moore said.

“He’ll never be known ... as a washed up politician” and while his name is no longer on the ballot, it’s on God’s Book of Life, Moore said.

The first level of Miller Auditorium, which seats about 1,300, was nearly filled for the memorial service. A long list of dignitaries were in attendance, including Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon and many of Jones’ colleagues in the state Legislature, U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land and local politicians.

Western Michigan University President John M. Dunn, Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell and one of Jones’ son, Jahdal Johnson, were among the speakers.

“He was energetic, engaged and completely enthralled with his community,” Dunn said of Jones, who was considered an abiding cheerleader for Kalamazoo, from promoting it as a city commissioner and state lawmaker in economic development initiatives to showing up at a seemingly every major event the community had to offer.

“He knew he could make this a better place and he worked to that end for some 40 years as a husband, a father, a citizen, a scientist, a mayor and state representative,” Dunn said.

Jones retired from what was then Pharmacia & Upjohn as a chemical production supervisor in 1997. That same year became mayor by receiving the highest number of votes in the city commission election.

He was re-elected mayor three times and though he had been active in the community during his 40 years in the Kalamazoo area, retirement freed up more time to volunteer, to serve on boards and be that visible cheerleader, friend Robert Nichols said prior to Thursday’s memorial service.

After eschewing another run for city office, Jones pursued state office and was elected to the 60th District House seat in 2006. In July 2009, he announced he wouldn’t run for a third term in the House but for the 20th District Senate seat.

Even with his diagnosis of esophageal cancer in February 2009, Jones said it wouldn’t hinder his bid for the Senate. And even with more cancer treatments this year and his physical condition deteriorating, he continued on, campaigning to the end.

Perhaps because of that perseverance, many viewed his death Oct. 17 as a shock.

“My father was never a person to step away from a challenge, to let something wrong stay that way,” his son, Jahdal Johnson, said during the memorial service.

“He never sat back, even battling cancer, he never became complacent. He led by example and he mentored many others.”

In Lansing, Jones, a soft-spoken man known for his calm nature, was “always the adult in the room” amid political squabbling, Dillon said.

One of the House speaker’s most striking impressions of Jones was “how universally loved this man was” among all people in all walks of life.

Another House member, state Rep. Fred Durhal Jr., remarked that the diversity of the people gathered for Thursday’s service was fitting, because Jones brought all kinds together during public life.

“It was just what Bob was all about, being diverse, pulling people together and making things work,” said Durhal, a colleague on the Michigan Legislative Black Caucus. “That’s the Bob that we knew and that’s the one we will remember forever.”